Image: Korea Haemi Castle Taken from: Wikimedia Commons

A CHURCH IN CRISIS

| By DOMINIC FERRERA Research Associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs

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Pope Francis sparked wide outrage against the in after he voiced his support for Fernando Karadima, a well-known Bishop in the Catholic community who was found guilty of abusing minors by the Church. The punishment that Karadima received from the Vatican in 2010 was a “lifetime of penance and prayer.”i This crisis has sowed discontent against the Catholic Church among Chilean laymen who have seen Karadima’s offenses go largely unpunished. Many Chileans, including Karadima’s victims, wished to see more punitive measures to be taken against their perpetrators. Furthermore, Pope Francis raised the ire of even more Chileans during his recent visit to the country, stating, in regards to Bishop Juan Barros covering up Karadima’s actions, it was all “calumny.”ii From the outset, there was an outcry over the Pope appointing Barros to become head of the Osorno Diocese in 2015 and it was the hope of many devout followers that this issue would be addressed following Francis’ arrival. What the Pope offered was more or less an apology to the victims of the abuse, but reinforced his position in supporting Barros as well as the Bishop’s general standing in the Church. As a result of the Pope's’ stance, Catholicism in Chile has lost some of its following. The reason why this event is so significant is because it is an indication of a deepening trend in both Chile and Latin America as a whole. The event is symptomatic of a declining religious practice in the region. Chile has witnessed an understandable outcry with regards of the treatment of sexual abuse cases. Though the outcry is deserved with regard to the Churches’ treatment of sexual abuse cases, Catholicism has seen a drop in its following over the past several of decades.

Latin America is becoming less Catholic indicating a growing global trend in the churches decline in the region. South America has had a long history with the Catholic Church.iii After the region had been discovered by Columbus in 1492, the Catholic Church was quick to establish a presence in the new world. Missionaries helped establish infrastructure and a series of institutions for the populations in Latin America but had to overcome cultural differences. But the practice would reflect the unique cultures of the region representing an intermingling of two very different cultures. During Chile’s colonial period, which ended in 1818, the Church and state shared an intimate relation with one anotheriv. During this period the Church was involved in education and family affairs and received funding from the Chilean government. Separation of these two entities did not occur until the 1925; giving the church control over its own educational system, treasury, and retention of lands owned by it. In September of 1973 a military Junta, backed by the United States government, took over Chile’s democratically elected government with the aim of imposing a neoliberal economic model, inspired by the infamous ‘Chicago Boys’. It became clear that if Pinochet was to continue his reign over Chile the transition was going to be violentv. The Church in response to the increasing human rights abuses by the Pinochet regime began to eventually denounce their actions. As the government became more violent the Church became more vocal. It provided support to the poor and disenfranchised by voicing their grievances during this difficult time. The government was not able to attack the Catholic Church as easily as it could its own constituency. As a result, the Church tried to protect the rights of Chilean citizens who were being oppressed by the regimevi. What the Church had done for Chile earned it much public sup